Our Origins

Headquartered in Sweden, AMRA was founded in 2010 as a spin-off of Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), the Department of Biomedical Engineering (IMT), and the Department of Medicine and Health (IMH) at Linköping University, Sweden.

Our History

Following Morgan Spurlock’s documentary, “Super-Size Me”, AMRA founders Magnus Borga and Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard decided to investigate how MR imaging could be used to measure our bodies, including interventional effects on fat and muscle volumes. Their research led to the development of a patented method for the automated analysis of MR images, the formation of AMRA, and to the research that is now aimed at redefining obesity and metabolic risk.

Our Mission

is to confront our global health challenges by establishing the foundation for body composition measurement and providing the knowledge needed to predict and prevent diseases.

Our Vision

is a new, fundamental way of thinking about health. We provide knowledge to the medical community so that every individual can become — and stay — healthy.

Chief Executive Officer

Tommy Johansson

Tommy’s background asserts an extensive history in both information technology and economics. Prior to AMRA, Tommy was the Co-Founder and CEO of C3 Technologies, one of the most successful start-up companies in Sweden’s history.

In addition to his success with start-ups, Tommy worked previously as the Deputy CEO of IFS, Industrial and Financial Systems AB, an ERP software firm operating in 30+ countries. After beginning his career with Saab in 1980, he furthered his experience through a variety of positions within a number of large software companies, including Ericsson, Nokia, and ICL.

Tommy earned his M.Sc. in Industrial Engineering and Management in Linköping, Sweden in 1980. He has also served as a part-time lecturer at Linköping University, within the Department for Production Economics.

Klas Themner

Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, PhD

Chief Scientific Officer, Co-Founder

Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard

Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard is the Chief Scientific Officer, responsible for AMRA’s technical vision, for leading the execution of technology platforms and partnership strategies, and for overseeing all technology research and product development. Olof is also a Founder and Member of the Board.

Since 2012, Olof has performed as a Senior University Lecturer in Magnetic Resonance (MR) Physics at Linköping University (LiU), within the Department of Medicine and Health (IMH) / Division of Radiological Sciences (RAD). His position has included the PhD supervision of five PhD candidates, as well as the student supervision of over 20 individuals within MR Physics and Radiology. From 2010 to 2014, Olof also served as the Director of Doctoral Studies at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV).

Renowned within the field of MR Physics, Olof has over 45 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, as well as over 90 peer-reviewed conference abstracts to his name. Olof earned a PhD in Medical Radiation Physics at LiU in 2010, following a Licentiate Degree in Medicine in 2008, and a Master of Science in Physics in 2004.

Magnus Borga, PhD

VP of Imaging, Co-Founder

Magnus Borga

Magnus Borga operates as AMRA’s Chief Research Officer, concentrating on national and international strategic research collaborations, publication and grant policy, coordination of collaborative AMRA-CMIV research, and medical image analysis implementation into AMRA.

Magnus is also a Founder and Member of the Board.

Magnus serves as Professor in Medical Informatics within the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and as Associate Dean at the Faculty of Science and Engineering (Institute of Technology), Linköping University (LiU), Sweden.

Over the course of two decades, Magnus has developed his career at LiU, earning a M.Sc. in Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering in 1991, a Ph.D. in Image Processing in 1998, and a Docent in Medical Informatics in 2005. He began as a Research Assistant within the Department of Electrical Engineering at LiU in 1998, transitioning into the Department of Biomedical Engineering, where he was later appointed Head of the Department.

Magnus holds the following national and international assignments:

Member of the Board, Swedish Society for Automated Image Analysis, 2000 – 2015

Member of the Scientiﬁc Council of the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV), 2004 – current

Member of the Governing Board of The International Association for Pattern Recognition (IAPR), 2006 – 2014

General Chair for the International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR) 2014

SVP Commercial & Market Strategy

Chelsea Ranger

After relocating to Oslo in 2009, she worked as the Life Science Manager at HORN International, where she developed and expanded the Life Science division of the firm into Europe, and quickly established a compelling, worldwide network of key industry bodies.

Chelsea began her career as a Physician Assistant (PA-C) for The Liver Center, a Center of Excellence within Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates in Atlanta, Georgia. She was responsible for the diagnosis and treatment of patients with acute and chronic liver disease, pre- and post-transplant management, patient enrollment to Hepatitis C clinical trials, and clinical training for student PAs. She was also an invited Guest Lecturer of Hepatobiliary topics for the graduate PA programs at Mercer University and Emory University.

In 2007, Chelsea earned a M.HSc. in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of South Alabama, after receiving a B.Sc. in Pre-Medical Biology from Spring Hill College, both located in Mobile, Alabama.

Jeremy Edwards

SVP Global Business Development

Jeremy Edwards

With over 20 years of senior management and sales experience in the CRO, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device industry, Jeremy Edwards brings a unique talent of developing long-term, strategic alliances to his role as AMRA’s Senior Vice President of Business Development. Jeremy leads AMRA’s business development initiatives and is responsible for guiding AMRA’s effort to expand market share and secure growth through the implementation of global sales strategies, international sales force, and strategic, customer-focused relationships. Before joining AMRA, Jeremy held sales and leadership positions with PAREXEL Informatics, Worldwide Clinical Trials, and i3. Most recently he served as the General Manager & Vice President of Business Development, North America for Exco InTouch, where he was instrumental in growing the US sales and operations prior to its acquisition by ERT. He holds a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Marketing from Oklahoma Christian University.

Marketing & Brand Manager

Marie Börjesson

Fredrik Wanhainen

SVP Delivery & Support

Fredrik Wanhainen

Fredrik Wanhainen is AMRA’s Vice President of Engineering, with the strategic responsibility and control of all processes related to product development and customer deliveries, including project management, technical direction and guidance, assurance of optimal application and engineering resources, and implementation of support processes.

Prior to joining AMRA, Fredrik worked as the Chief Operating Officer at Responsive AB. His position included business development, as well as management consulting, with a focus on agile development technologies. Fredrik also worked previously as the Group Manager for multiple development departments at IFS AB, within the fields of asset management, service management and engineering.

Fredrik earned his Bachelor in Computer Science at The Institute of Technology at Linköping University.

Janne West, PhD

VP Quality Assurance& Regulatory Affairs

Janne West

Janne West operates as AMRA’s Chief Quality Officer, with responsibility for the development and implementation of a Quality Management System, as well as national and international regulatory compliance and approvals.

Janne is a part-time lecturer at Linköping University and is working as a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Medicine and Health Sciences (IMH), focusing largely upon whole-body fat and water imaging.

He previously worked as the Development Manager for Synthetic MR AB from 2007-2014, where he was responsible for a development team, as well as regulatory compliance and approvals for medical devices.

In 2014, Janne earned his Ph.D. in Medical Sciences at IMH, Linköping University (LiU). Throughout the course of his research, he has presented at approximately 15 international conferences and, with several peer-reviewed articles and a completed thesis, ”Quantitative MRI of the Brain,” he has established his expertise within MR Physics and Quantitative MRI, particularly within tissue segmentation and Multiple Sclerosis. Janne previously received his M.Sc. in Computer Science and Engineering in 2007, with a specialization in Medical Imaging from LiU.

Mikael Sundh

Human Resources Officer

Mikael Sundh

Mikael Sundh operates as AMRA’s Human Resources Officer, responsible for building and implementing HR routines and policies, attracting new employees, and working with competence development. Mikael is also a Member of the Board for AMRA.

In addition to working with AMRA, Mikael is the founder of Paragera AB, a specialty-consulting firm within HR, Recruitment, and Leadership Development. His extensive background is exemplified throughout his career in Human Resources Management for SICK IVP and Kreatel Communications over a combined 18 years, as well as his role as Manager for Leadership Development at Ericsson AB.

Mikael developed his career as an Officer in the Swedish Armed Forces for 19 years, where he received his education as a Human Resources Manager at the Military High School. Throughout his military career, he maintained a focus on Leadership and Human Behavior and worked for two years as a teacher at the War Academy.

Board of Directors

Kevin John Dean

Chairman of the BoardSmart Health Science Limited

Kevin John Dean

Kevin is the Founder and Managing Director of Smart Health Science Limited, providing support on healthcare innovation, research, and informatics to private, public, and third-sector organisations, and to their funders.

An engineer by training, Kevin has broad industry experience over the last 30 years working at the transition of inventions from research to market deployment. Kevin led Cisco’s Global Open Innovation team in health, care and life sciences for over 14 years, working with organisations at national, regional, and local levels, including the NHS, European Commission, and WHO. Prior to Cisco, Kevin worked on innovations in the Healthcare, Life Sciences, Energy, Airline, and Automotive sectors. He has worked with companies such as GKN, General Motors, British Telecom, BP, Shell, British Airways, Ericsson, Samsung, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Merck as an engineer, manager, and consultant, developing and implementing new technologies and information systems.

Kevin is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. Since 2009, Kevin has been an Honorary Research Fellow at City University, London. Kevin is also a Member of the Advisory Board of Patient@Home, Denmark’s largest welfare-technological research and innovation initiative, with a focus on new technologies aimed at patient rehabilitation and monitoring activities within the Danish public health sector. Since 2012, Kevin has been Visiting Professor in Telehealth & Assistive Living at the Maersk Institute, University of Southern Denmark. In November 2013, the UK’s Health Services Journal (HSJ) named Kevin as one of the 50 Top Innovators in healthcare.

Kevin’s current appointments also include:

Non-Executive Director and Chair of the Data Advisory Committee for Genomics England Limited, a company (2013–May 2016).

Bill Burkoth

Board MemberPfizer Ventures

Bill Burkoth

Bill is currently an Executive Director of Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer Inc.

Since joining Pfizer in early 2004, Bill has played an instrumental role in numerous new venture capital investments, including Avid Radiopharmaceuticals (acquired by Eli Lilly), Clovis Oncology (Nasdaq: CLVS), DVS Sciences (acquired by Fluidigm), Evolution Benefits (acquired by Genstar Capital), and HandyLab (acquired by Becton Dickinson).

Prior to joining Pfizer, Bill worked in Business Development at Galileo Pharmaceuticals and at IntraBiotics Pharmaceuticals. Prior to his roles in business development, Bill was an analyst at Bay City Capital. Mr. Burkoth received a BA in chemistry from Whitman College and an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Bill’s current appointments also include:

Bill currently serves on the board of directors of Biodesy, G-Con Manufacturing, NeuMoDx Molecular, Novocure, Palleon Pharma and RefleXion Medical. He is also a member of the investment committee of the Investment Fund for Health in Africa (IFHA) and BBI Financial Gestão de Recursos (Rio, Brazil).

Søren Møller

Board MemberNovo Seeds

Søren Møller

Søren joined Novo A/S in October 2011 as Managing Investment Director of Novo Seeds.

Søren obtained his MSc degree from the Technical University of Denmark in 1993 and his PhD degree in molecular biology in 1997 from the Technical University of Denmark. In addition, Søren has academic training as postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine.

Prior to joining Novo Seeds, Søren served as global manager of Bioinformatics and Genomics at Novozymes. Before Novozymes, Søren was CSO and Vice President of R&D at Exiqon A/S where he was responsible for development of microRNA based products for life science research, pharma services and diagnostics. Previously, Søren worked in cancer drug development as head of Lead Identification at BioImage and as research scientist at Novo Nordisk.

Søren’s current appointments also include:

Søren serves on the Board of Directors of Affinicon, Biosyntia, Reapplix A/S and RSPR Pharma. And since 2008, Søren has been board member of Danish Biotech (the Association of Biotechnology Industries in Denmark).

Patrik Sobocki

Board MemberIndustrifonden

Patrik Sobocki

Patrik is an investment manager at Industrifonden and is leading the investment initiatives in Digital Health.

Before Patrik Sobocki joined Industrifonden in 2016 he held several senior level positions in the digital health and pharmaceutical industries, within both startups and global brands. In his role, Patrik will support the entire investment area of Life Science with a particular focus on growing Industrifonden’s footprint in the digital health domain.

Patrik is extremely passionate about identifying and working closely with promising start-ups to help unleash their global potential by leveraging equally passionate people.

Patrik has a PhD in Medicine and is an Associate Professor at Karolinska Institutet. Patrik also holds a Masters in Economics and Finance from the Stockholm School of Economics and an International Master in International Management from the Community of European Management Schools (CEMS).

Patrik’s current appointments also include:
Member of Board of Directors at Medtentia
Member of Board of Directors at Trialbee

Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard, PhD

Board MemberAMRA

Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard

Olof Dahlqvist Leinhard is the Chief Scientific Officer, responsible for AMRA’s technical vision, for leading the execution of technology platforms and partnership strategies, and for overseeing all technology research and product development. Olof is also a Founder and Member of the Board.

Since 2012, Olof has performed as a Senior University Lecturer in Magnetic Resonance (MR) Physics at Linköping University (LiU), within the Department of Medicine and Health (IMH) / Division of Radiological Sciences (RAD). His position has included the PhD supervision of five PhD candidates, as well as the student supervision of over 20 individuals within MR Physics and Radiology. From 2010 to 2014, Olof also served as the Director of Doctoral Studies at the Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization (CMIV).

Renowned within the field of MR Physics, Olof has over 45 peer-reviewed journal and conference articles, as well as over 90 peer-reviewed conference abstracts to his name. Olof earned a PhD in Medical Radiation Physics at LiU in 2010, following a Licentiate Degree in Medicine in 2008, and a Master of Science in Physics in 2004.

Scientific Advisory Board

Jimmy D Bell, PhD

Westminster UniversityLondon UK

Jimmy D Bell

Professor Bell is a Professor of Human Metabolism at the University of Westminster and the Director of the Research Centre for Optimal Health (ReCOH), which he created to focus on research in obesity and the factors that determine optimal health and accelerated ageing.

Jimmy completed his PhD at London University in 1987, developing MR techniques to assess biological processes, continuing as a post-doctoral researcher in metabolism and obesity. He subsequently joined the Royal Postgraduate Medical School as a Lecturer, where he worked on the methodologies for the study of disease development, demonstrating the importance of gene-environment interaction in obesity.

Professor Bell joined the Imperial College London in the mid-90’s, where he was appointed Professor and Group Head. His research program focused on integrating biochemical, molecular biology, and MR techniques to define the influences of genetics and environmental factors on optimal health and chronic diseases, particularly those associated with adipose tissue metabolism and function.

Mark Adkins, MD

Mayo Clinic Rochester, US

Mark Adkins

For nearly two decades, Dr. Mark Adkins has been a Consultant within the Department of Radiology and Division of Musculoskeletal Radiology at Mayo Clinic, and an Assistant Professor of Radiology within the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. Additionally, he has been Director of the Musculoskeletal Imaging Fellowship Program at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education since 1997, and was Chair of the Division of Musculoskeletal Radiology at Mayo Clinic for 7 years.

His research activities include multiple facets of body composition analysis, including bone strength, bone density, muscle mass, and fat quantification – including visceral, subcutaneous, liver, and intramuscular adipose tissue. His primary interests include advancing the use of body composition analysis to quantify risks and reduce the morbidity / mortality of fractures, obesity, the metabolic syndrome, and sarcopenia.

After receiving his MD from the University of Minnesota in 1991, Mark continued his training at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine with a Residency in Diagnostic Radiology and a Fellowship in Musculoskeletal Radiology. In addition to numerous awards, national and international speaker positions, publications, and reviews to his name, he has been an invaluable mentor to numerous Fellows and Residents throughout the Mayo system.

Mark currently holds the following assignments:

Director of the Musculoskeletal Imaging Fellowship Program at the Mayo School of Graduate Medical Education since 1997

Sven Enerbäck, MD, PhD

Sahlgrenska AcademyGothenburg, Sweden

Sven Enerbäck

Sven Enerbäck received his MD in 1984 and PhD in 1992, both from the University of Gothenburg. In 1993, he received his license to practice medicine. For postdoctoral training, Dr Enerbäck joined the laboratory of Leslie P. Kozak at The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor, Maine from 1993-1994.

He was appointed as full professor of Medical Genetics at the Medical Faculty of University of Gothenburg in 2000. His research focuses upon metabolism, particularly on white and brown adipose tissue and its role in systemic energy turn-over. He was a Pfizer Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan 2004, and was awarded The Söderberg Foundation Chair in Medicine 2009. In 2010, Dr Enebäck was awarded The Anniversary Medical Prize of The Swedish Medical Society.

He is an elected Member of The Royal Society of Arts and Sciences and the Medical Class of The Swedish Royal Academy of Science.

Ian J. Neeland, MD, FAHA

UT Southwestern Medical CenterDallas, US

Ian J. Neeland

Dr. Neeland earned his medical degree at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at Emory University School of Medicine and served as Chief Medical Resident at the Veteran’s Affairs Hospital in Atlanta before coming to UT Southwestern in 2011 where he completed a combined clinical and research fellowship in cardiovascular medicine. He also holds a certificate in translational medicine from Emory’s Laney Graduate School.

Dr. Neeland joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2015. He is a general cardiologist with special expertise in obesity and cardiovascular disease, as well as in noninvasive imaging. Dr. Neeland is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases and he also holds a subspecialty certification in adult echocardiography from the National Board of Echocardiography.

Dr. Neeland is active in both research and patient care. His research focuses on cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. He is a member of professional organizations that include the AHA Council on Epidemiology and Prevention, as well as its Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health; American College of Cardiology; American Society for Preventive Cardiology; and The Obesity Society.

Miriam Vos, MD, MSPH

Emory University School of MedicineAtlanta, US

Miriam Vos

Miriam Vos is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Emory University School of Medicine, and Director of Transplant Wellness at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. She specializes in the treatment of gastrointestinal disease in children, as well as fatty liver disease and obesity. Dr. Vos is also the author of The No-Diet Obesity Solution for Kids.

Claude B. Sirlin, MD

University of California San Diego, US

Claude B. Sirlin

Claude B. Sirlin, MD, is Professor and Vice Chair (Translational Research) of Radiology at the University of California, San Diego. He is an NIH-funded clinician scientist, whose research focuses on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and quantitative ultrasound of liver cancer and chronic liver disease. Dr. Sirlin founded and directs UC San Diego Health’s Liver Imaging Group, which actively collaborates with hepatologists, surgeons, pathologists and statisticians to advance screening, diagnosis, treatment and outcomes of individuals with liver disease. He is also the codirector of the Cancer Imaging Program at Moores Cancer Center, chair of the Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System Committee for the American College of Radiology, and co-director of the Radiologist Clinician-Scientist Training Program in his university. He has published more than 200 manuscripts, 30 book chapters, 200 scientific abstracts, and 100 educational exhibits. A dedicated teacher and mentor, Dr Sirlin has supervised over 150 undergraduates, medical students, residents, and fellows in clinical imaging research.

Manu Chakravarthy, MD, PhD

Axcella Health, Inc. Cambridge, US

Manu Chakravarthy

Manu Chakravarthy, M.D., Ph.D., is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President,
Clinical Development for Axcella Health. In this position, he provides strategic direction
and oversight for Axcella’s clinical research and development activities, including the
execution of a variety of clinical trials across several indications. Manu brings a deep
commitment to innovation and translational medicine with an unwavering focus to
address serious unmet medical needs by translating breakthrough discoveries into the
clinic, and meaningfully improve human health.

Prior to assuming his current role, Manu served as the Global Head of External R&D in
diabetes and cardiovascular research at Eli Lilly & Co where he was responsible for
external innovation efforts, including the identification/evaluation of novel therapeutics,
platforms, and technologies for in/out-licensing, establishing academic collaborations,
and consortia management across the value chain to complement and enhance Lilly’s
internal R&D portfolio. He also served as the industry co-leader of the Innovative
Medicine Initiative’s LITMUS project, one of the largest public-private consortia efforts to
elucidate noninvasive biomarkers for NAFLD. Before his global leadership role at Lilly,
Manu spent more than 7 years at Merck & Co., where he began his industry career in
Experimental Medicine as an associate director and progressively gained increasing
experience across the R&D spectrum from discovery, clinical pharmacology, biomarker
development and late-stage drug development across several therapeutic areas. During
this time, he assumed positions of increasing responsibility and leadership within the
company, ultimately serving as a Distinguished Scientist in Discovery Medicine for the
diabetes and cardiometabolic group within Translational Medicine.

Manu received his medical degree from the Univ. of Texas Houston Medical School, his
doctorate in cell biology & physiology from the Univ. of Texas Graduate School of
Biomedical Sciences and the MD Anderson Cancer Center, and his bachelor’s degree in
Liberal Arts from St. John’s University. He completed a residency in Internal Medicine at
the Hospital of the Univ. of Pennsylvania and clinical Fellowship in Endocrinology,
Diabetes & Metabolism at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St Louis. Manu undertook
postdoctoral research training as an American Diabetes Assoc. Postdoctoral Fellow at
Washington Univ. School of Medicine in St. Louis with Prof. Clay Semenkovich focusing
on lipid metabolism. His research elucidated the role of de novo lipogenesis via fatty
acid synthase in hepatic steatosis, including the discovery of an endogenous ligand for
the nutritionally regulated transcription factor, PPARalpha. Following his clinical and
postdoctoral research training, Manu was appointed as Instructor of Medicine in the
Department of Endocrinology & Metabolism at Washington Univ. School of Medicine.
Manu is Board-certified in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Metabolism and is an Adjunct
Clinical Asst. Professor of Medicine at the Rutgers School of Medicine, NJ.

Partners

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